State

Tar Heel . History Bv Billy Arthur Breathing Easier Greensboro pharmacist Lunsford Richardson's peculiar vaporizing salve, Vicks YapoRub, is still a popular item in drugstores today after 92 years on the market. Willi 19 home remedies and a dream, f> 1 -war-old C.recnslx>ro phannacist Lunsford Rich¬ ardson gambled $8,000 and all Ins woildlv goods in 190Г» 10 make and widclv market his over-the-counter medic inak Bclbrc his death, onlv I -I yean, lam in 1919. lie owned a famih business with gr«»ss vdes in the millions ol dollars and made his Vicks VapoRub a household word all over the United States. Today. people- in more than Hit) countries know the Vicks name as applied to the oint¬ ment that was originally named "('.roup and Pneumonia Salve." Ii has never claimed to cure — only to “relieve dis¬ tress ol colds" and "all on I relief for difficult breath¬ ing” According to the custom ol old-time druggists. Richardson began concocting home reme¬ dies in 188(1 lor certain ail¬ ments for which doctors were Ijl"4ord seldom summoned. In this instance, his own family challenged his adroitness. The (Itmisboni I Wind ol XoYcinhci l<». 1901. slid, in pail: "... the three small Ri< hardv hi children caught bad colds. Following the Ih-si practice ol ilu- times, he treated (them) with |Miullice> whic h were dis¬ agreeable to пике and use. and also with a vapor lamp, which required that all windows in the- room Ik- closed. The c hildren did recover Iioiii their colds, hut their lather was high- lv dissatisfied with the methods ol treat¬ ment fot their illness. “lie began rx|x*rimcniing with art idea lie- had devc!o|>ed — a va|x>ri/ing sahv tint combined the Ih-si feautres ol the |K>ultice treatment and the head-clearing va|x»ri/cr. . . ” It contained menthol, cam¬ phor. oil o| eucalyptus and other ingredients in a petrole¬ um base. Essentially, the lonnula has letttaitted unc hanged out the yeais. When nibbed on the chest, it is у и idling like a dressing, and hotly heat generates vapors from the salve that, when inhaled, makes breathing easier. Ibis writer’s parents called it “pneumonia grease" and also prcscril>eel swallowing a blob of ii to Irc-lp a sore throat. That is not rece nn mended. Bom DeremlH-r SO. IBM, and raised on a Johnston (ountv plantation, laiusford Richaiclyin attended llomei and draws Aeadeiiiv at Oxford and latei l».rvkLy>ll College. graduating in three wars as class Richardson salutatorian with medals in I atilt, Greek, chemistry and debating. I lc- was prim i|Kil ol little River Academy iit CuiiilxTland Guam fin loin wars. Undecided in 1880 whether to continue teaching or Ixtoiiic a pharmacist, he visit¬ ed a sister in Selma and found there* a small drugstore lor srle. I laving saved $000. die thrifts Richardson bought it lor $450. Me paid $10 a month rent and slept in the liackol the store. In 10 yearn he acquired a wile*, two children and $r»,000 in savings. I lis bride was Man I лип Smith, daughter of Reverend Jacob Henry Smith, a GrecnslM»ro Presbyterian minister. Her brother. I Icniy I <*wis Stnith. was later pres¬ ident of Davidson College and Washington and lee Universitv in lexington, Virginia. Forever seeking greener fields. Richardson moved to (ireensIxMC). In 1891. with John B. Fanis as a partner, he taught the WC Potter Drug Store on Elm Sti ret where Porter’s ttc-phew. William Sidney Poi ter. had clerked before Ihtoiii- ing a lanicHis short-story writer under the |x*tt name ol O’ Henry. 'Hie Richardson- Farris store* prospered attd Ik*c atne the city's largest. To generate business itt his private l> t a tt d s . Richardson turned to advertising. О t d e ring painted wooden ftjf signs, he* himself packed them itt a |l buggy, drove along die nearby roads and W nailed ihem onto trees. "I had seen a visiott. I had dreamed dreams of a worldwide business." he wrote later. Next, lie Hied whole-tiling. Selling the pharmacy, he e>|x*ned a jobbing company but learned stockholder» wen* more inter- c-sted in divide nds than Rowing luc k profits lc и gmwlh. So. alter seven wars he sold ii as well but retained ownership of Iris n*mc*dies and trademarks. Mis strong lx-lic*f in their market |xMential had not wavered. ’Пи*у included fiutle Oil liniment, little liver Pills. Kadok Headache Powder, a cough svnip and the* Ik*IIwc*iIic*i Vicks Croup and Pneumonia Salve. I lc had chosen the name Nick for his brothe r-in-law, Dr. Joshua \icko! Sc-lma. IxTausc ii was shorter, catchv and 4’ У ^ V. .4 SrnilKrfi» lilt. »it. I I nil. iImhi .1 I M Our StaieOanu.uv 1997 l_“